Lac du Relais, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Quebec holds Lac du Relais, in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean. Elevation runs to 353 metres. It measures about 10 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. With about 1.5 km of edge, you can try several depths in one session. Supplies mean a trip to Pont Rouge, 79 km off. Further out sit Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc (81 km) and Sainte-Monique (84 km). It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Relais

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Reported across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean: northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. The near bank of Lac du Relais is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -19°C to 16°C. Cold dominates the calendar on water this far north. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early May until roughly mid November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Lac du Relais.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. For a change of water, LacMcLean is 0.6 km distant. Confirm access to Lac du Relais locally before you travel.